Human beings have the capacity to achieve incredible things. Mankind’s ability to learn and grow hinges upon individuals’ own experience in using and expanding their own knowledge base to better their own condition and the conditions of those around them. Therefore, education is vital to our world and its progress. With a well-rounded education and the influence of great teachers, my life has certainly become more enriched and meaningful, and I wish to have the ability to have the same enriching effect on the lives of others as a teacher.
The people I have had the most respect for in my life have been teachers. My father has been a biology teacher in Massachusetts public schools for decades, and I have witnessed firsthand the positive effects he has had on his students over the course of time. He receives letters of thanks and well wishes from his students, even many years after they have left his classroom. He has instilled in me many of the things he has been impressing upon his high school students for a long time, and in many ways he is a model of the kind of teacher I aspire to be.
Respect for one’s teachers and peers has always been my father’s cardinal rule, and it was clear to me from a young age that the breaking of this rule was absolutely unacceptable. Although he truly was my very first teacher who has taught me so much, he has also always encouraged me to be responsible for my own learning, and he has shown me how I might arrive at the answers to my questions. Students will not always have teachers with them throughout their lives, and they must learn how to be independent, self-capable, and autonomous individuals within society. My father knows that every individual has their own ways of learning and exploring different concepts, and this is why he has used many tools over the years to facilitate learning and make learning interesting and enjoyable. Video media, dissections, anecdotes, examples, and observations of natural forces in action have always been a part of his palette of educational colors besides simple note-taking].
The experience of being a piano teacher for the past five years has also been instrumental in my decision to pursue teaching as my primary career. I have informally implemented many of my father’s strategies and principles as an educator for the past five years teaching one-on-one as well as group lessons. I thoroughly enjoy the challenge of helping my students master many different concepts in music theory in addition to the challenge of increasing their skills at the instrument. I’ve needed to find huge varieties of ways to help students of many different ages and skill levels (and several with learning and social disabilities) understand a certain principle, and then advance to the next level.
The single most important thing I have learned in my limited experience as a classroom teacher thus far has been the importance of fostering deep personal connections with students. When even a few students feel as though you are connected and invested in their education, this feeling usually spreads to others with a level of ease. That's why every opportunity needs to be taken to learn students' names quickly, find out their interests, and get involved in extracurricular activites whenever time allows it.
Both learning and teaching are challenging, and challenges can frustrate us all. However, whatever vexation we feel as we struggle is miniscule in comparison to the feeling of the accomplishment of meeting a goal blocked by the challenge! I understood this for years as a student, and watching my own students begin to understand this as well is wonderful to see. Now I’m finally beginning to feel the fulfillment my father feels when he receives a letter of thanks from a long-lost pupil. It is this type of feeling that is ultimately what I’m seeking as an educator.
The people I have had the most respect for in my life have been teachers. My father has been a biology teacher in Massachusetts public schools for decades, and I have witnessed firsthand the positive effects he has had on his students over the course of time. He receives letters of thanks and well wishes from his students, even many years after they have left his classroom. He has instilled in me many of the things he has been impressing upon his high school students for a long time, and in many ways he is a model of the kind of teacher I aspire to be.
Respect for one’s teachers and peers has always been my father’s cardinal rule, and it was clear to me from a young age that the breaking of this rule was absolutely unacceptable. Although he truly was my very first teacher who has taught me so much, he has also always encouraged me to be responsible for my own learning, and he has shown me how I might arrive at the answers to my questions. Students will not always have teachers with them throughout their lives, and they must learn how to be independent, self-capable, and autonomous individuals within society. My father knows that every individual has their own ways of learning and exploring different concepts, and this is why he has used many tools over the years to facilitate learning and make learning interesting and enjoyable. Video media, dissections, anecdotes, examples, and observations of natural forces in action have always been a part of his palette of educational colors besides simple note-taking].
The experience of being a piano teacher for the past five years has also been instrumental in my decision to pursue teaching as my primary career. I have informally implemented many of my father’s strategies and principles as an educator for the past five years teaching one-on-one as well as group lessons. I thoroughly enjoy the challenge of helping my students master many different concepts in music theory in addition to the challenge of increasing their skills at the instrument. I’ve needed to find huge varieties of ways to help students of many different ages and skill levels (and several with learning and social disabilities) understand a certain principle, and then advance to the next level.
The single most important thing I have learned in my limited experience as a classroom teacher thus far has been the importance of fostering deep personal connections with students. When even a few students feel as though you are connected and invested in their education, this feeling usually spreads to others with a level of ease. That's why every opportunity needs to be taken to learn students' names quickly, find out their interests, and get involved in extracurricular activites whenever time allows it.
Both learning and teaching are challenging, and challenges can frustrate us all. However, whatever vexation we feel as we struggle is miniscule in comparison to the feeling of the accomplishment of meeting a goal blocked by the challenge! I understood this for years as a student, and watching my own students begin to understand this as well is wonderful to see. Now I’m finally beginning to feel the fulfillment my father feels when he receives a letter of thanks from a long-lost pupil. It is this type of feeling that is ultimately what I’m seeking as an educator.